


Isle of Defiance

by RadZoneLad



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Comics), Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, knuxouge - Freeform, slight shipping, sonamy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25998790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RadZoneLad/pseuds/RadZoneLad
Summary: What do you get when you toss twenty known characters on a insland and make them complete a series of challenges over piles of cold hard cash with the bonus of the seven Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald ? With Eggman and Dodon Pa making some cash off of it ? (Warning : There may be some dark comedy here and there, some very small Knuxouge and Sonamy)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	1. Chapter 1

**Special Thanks to Gelatinos for the idea. Have a good one.**

* * *

Door's were kicked and a tall egg shaped man walked down the hallways towards the desk of a tanuki who watched curiously, with a smile and friendly tone he announced "DodonPa, my good friend how are you doing ?" He reached close to him and held out his hand for a friendly shake. Dodon Pa just stared at him and said.  
"May i ask, what are you doing here chubby human ?" Eggman leaned back and laughed.  
"My friend, I just had an idea that could be of best benefit for the both of us" The tanuki lifted a brow, the idea of calling security on him and sending him off was on his mind but the benefit part caught his attention.  
"Go on" The man cleared his throat, pressed a button and from the end of the hallway a robot carrying a projector stepped forward to them, turning to the left and displaying a image of an island on the wall

"You see, i was just struck by this great idea while watching my favorite reality show Water People. We invite Sonic and his friends, along with a few more folks. And I just so happened to lift an island into the skies.

Make them go trough dangerous and entertaining challenges, record the whole thing, transmit it over live television, make millions off of revenue and merchandising, while you advertise the whole thing"

"Why did you lift an island to the skies ?" Dodon Pa asked.  
"Boredom"

The man placed a hand on his shoulder "Picture this DodonPa Motors amazing reality show starring the hero Sonic and his friends, facing dangerous challenges. Imagine all the people rushing to buy the merchandising and a spanking new high quality car from you"

Surprisingly he liked the idea, but as good as it sounded he knew the man before him was a smelly fish so to say. "Then what would you provide to me in order for this 'show' to happen ?"

Eggman grinned and clapped his hands as another robot rushed towards him carrying a brand new state of the arc engine, along with more high tech gadgets, "I'll give you the schematics for these beauties free of charge, you just advertise me and watch the fireworks. I'll even let you be my co-host"

He took a good look at the engines and tech, none of his scientists and engineers barely came close to such technical marvel "Sounds good, but you'll be my co-host and you give me control over any machinations within the island Eggman laughed and tapped his shoulder.  
"Great choice, we'll make history i tell you" The walked off out of the room, to begin concocting this espcatacle.

6 Months later

Sonic impatiently threw a ball against a wall watching it bounce gainst wall then the floor, before returning to his hand, he once again threw the ball again "How long till you're done with the tornado there ?" Tails stopped welding the torn metal and looked over to him, lifting the metallic mask up he said.  
"It'll take a while, she was hit pretty bad you know" Sonic snickered lightly before grabbing the ball and throwing it again.  
"You call her a she" Tails pouted and said.  
"Why haven't you zoomed off today ? Tired ?" Sonic shrugged and said.  
"Ames is doing some shopping, Tangle and Whisper are doing something and Knuckles is sitting on angel island, and i'm kinda hungry for a chili dog" Tails chuckled and said.  
"You keep eating that many of those and you end up like Eggman" Sonic let out a sarcastic laugh, but before he could answer, a window broke, on the floor next to Tails, laid a brick with the words 'PLAY ME' and behind the brick a CD.  
Walking up the stairs, Sonic sat on the couch and Tails slid in the CD.

"What in the ?" Both Sonic and Tails said out in surprise.

* * *

"Thank you so much for the help Vanilla" Amy said, she sniffed in the sweet smell of tea before taking a sip herself "Only i can forget my credit card at the check out, i'll pay you back as soon as i get home Ok" The older rabbit laughed a bit before saying.

"Don't you worry about it dear, consider it a gift for taking care of Cream for me while i'm working" The smaller rabbit nodded, agreeing with every word before saying.  
"You deserve it Amy" Amy chuckled a bit and said.

"Alright fine, how about i make you something tasty as a thank you" The doorbell rang. Vanilla stood up from her seat.  
"Excuse me" After a few seconds she returned with a CD player, with the words PLAY ME in black marker "Someone just left this at my doorstep, strange" She settled the player on the table.  
Amy curiously pressed the play button.

* * *

A red echidna sat up from the stone floor rubbing his head and groaned "Ow, what happened ?" A peach echidna rushed beside him, looking down on him with a look of worry plastered on her face. "You are finally awake Guardian Knuckles, are you injured ?"

"No, i'm ok my head just hurts a bit...Wait a minute, what are you doing out of the emerald Tikal ?" She fiddled with her fingers a bit before saying.

"Well you see, sadly the master emerald was once again stolen and I was tired of sitting idly without doing anything, so I got out and saw you unconscious on the floor. I didn't have a good look at the thief sadly" Knuckles stood up immediately and before acting out in anger he took a deep breath and said.  
"I think i know who stole it, come on" He said as he led her out of the island.

* * *

"And that is all the time we have for folks, tune in next week to find out who Ashely chooses to be her second in command on the next episode of, Love Boat is it going to be Aster or will it be Duncan" The TV was turned off a black hedgehog groaned.  
"This is what you had in mind on vacation ? Sit down and watch trash Reality Shows ?"  
"Better than your idea to go fishing" Rouge smugly said as she took the remote from his hands, as she resumed to flip through channels "And besides all of my favorite spots are closed today so this is the only thing i can do"

"My suggestion to go to storm Eggman's base still stands" The robot suggested from the other side of the couch.  
"Eggman has been awfully quiet this past month hasn't he ?" Shadow asked them.  
"Yeah, last time he has been like that he almost destroyed the world" Shadow nodded. A door was kicked open and a echidna furiously shouted with a peach echidna following behind him apologizing.  
"Alright batgirl, where's the Master Emerald ?" Rouge looked over from the couch before saying.  
"Hey Knuckie how are you ?"  
"Quit the chit chat, where is the Master Emerald ?" Knuckles said, lifting up his fist.  
" I haven't got out of this couch yet you know, why is it when you come see me it's alway about that stupid rock ? I'm innocent this time around.

"You expect me to believe that, yesterday you said that you couldn't take your eyes off the best treasure on this island" Rouge groaned and stood up from her seat.

"You are way denser than I remember Knuckie , I haven't stolen your rock" Rouge looked over his shoulder to see a peach echidna behind him.  
"Yeah right" Knuckles assumed a fighting stance and so did Rouge.

"Remain calm Guardian Knuckles perhaps she is telling the truth, you don't need to fight" Shadow walked beside her and said.

"Don't bother, it's usually how they sort things out" Tikal lifted a brow and said  
"But they don't need to fight about it, can't we solve this with a conversation?"  
"At this point is just adding more fuel to the fire"

Before Knuckles and Rouge could begin, Omega lifted a CD player and shouted "All of you be quiet, i have received a CD Player" All of their glances instantly shifted to the robot.  
Watching the footage, Rouge's eye shined with a gleam while Knuckles gripped the screen.

* * *

A blade pierced a can, spinning around the lid and lifting it with the blade, revealing a brown-ish paste, steam flew out of it, a bee covered his nose and stuck his tongue out.  
"Dinner's served boys, eat it before it gets cold" Vector said as he gave them plastic spoons. A purple chameleon grimaced at their 'meal' that sat atop a portable stove and asked.  
"Boss, i know we are a short or funds but, couldn't we have gotten instant ramen istead" The stench of the can almost made him throw up "this is deplorable"

"You may not like it but it's worth better than staying without water or electricity. And besides it was on discount" He scooped out some of it and said "This is good, watch" As soon as he placed the 'food' in his mouth he instantly wanted to spit it out, but his pride made him swallow it "Hmm, tasty, the best baked beans i've ever ate"

Espio picked the can before throwing it out in the trash, Vector letter out a defeated sign and said "At least it will keep the rats from starving"  
"If they hadn't starved out yet" Charmy added. Espio walked to the door and said.  
"I'll get us some instant ramen" Walking out he saw a CD player sitting on their welcome mat, he brought it inside "Someone left this on our front door" He read the words out loud 'PLAY ME' He sat down and played the disc.

* * *

"Let me see if i got this right," Silver said as he placed the history book down "The pirates started to appear after the wood tax right ?" Silver looked at the cat standing beside him.

"Not right, but at the same time not wrong" She pointed to a sentence in the book "The pirates are more of a side effect after the tax, due to most of the workers not being able to work"

"Ooh, that makes sense, and why did that tax exist ?" Before blaze could answer Gardon opened the door on the library, carrying a CD player.

"Your highness, sorry to interrupt you but we have recently received a message addressed to you, he showed Blaze the CD player, the purple cat placed it on the table, she read the message on it and played it.

* * *

A sound sleep, hanging back on his chair, legs sprawled out on the table, high up in the sky, there was no other place he would rather be right now. But nothing lasts forever, a grey albatross barged in the room.  
"BOSS!" Scared out of his sleep Jet almost fell hard on the floor, he shook his fist angrily and told Storm.  
"Don't you know how to knock you big buffoon?" Wave walked inside the room, Storm showed him the CD player.  
"Sorry boss, someone left this thing on the deck and it looks important" Wave walked over to him and took the CD player, she shrugged before sitting it down on the table and playing the message

* * *

The sound of something being dropped echoed throughout the stone, piercing green eyes noticed the object, a shadowy being grabbed the object before bringing it back to its master "Interesting" He muttered before playing the message

* * *

Aa lemur walked over to her friend sitting on a bench holding two glasses of juice, before offering she asked"How did it break anyway ? It never broke before" she said to her friend, Whisper took the glass, she took a sip, tightened up screws on her weapon, she just shrugged and said.  
"It overheated" She whispered while tightening some screws. The sound of something flying came to their direction, a drone carrying a small grey box. He stopped in front of them, landing on the ground, releasing the box and flying away.

Tangle took the box, which looked like a CD player, she sat down besides Whisper and played the disc.

* * *

After some static and image of a fat man wearing a suit and beside him a tanuki on a stage, filled with shine and glow. Eggman smiled from ear to ear before announcing

"CONGRATULATIONS, you have just been invited to the Isle of Egg" An image of Eggman and Dodonpa lying down sunbathing both sunbathing holding an ice cold drinks "Enjoy 3 moths of all expenses paid on a tropical paradise high up in the skies, experience breathtaking beaches" An image of them in the woods near a gorgeous waterfall " explore the brimming flora, all of it being recorded live 24/7. And the best of all" The image returned to Eggman and besides him Metal Sonic with a red metallic bowtie.

The robot pulled a rope hanging from the ceiling, purple curtains were lifted revealing a treasure trove of gold, gems, jewels and baubles. " A chance to take this home along with" The camera panned to the side revealing the 7 chaos emeralds and the Master Emerald.  
"Interested? then be in Station Square nearby the emerald coast, tonight at 9:30 pm. To participate in the Isle of Defiance, sponsored by Dodon Pa Motors" Dodon Pa announced.  
Both of them lifted their arms up, bowed and said "We hope to see you there".

"Sounds like Fun" Sonic said excitedly.  
"Sounds like a trap" Tails reasoned  
"Can i go mother ?" Cream asked.  
"I'm not sure dear" Vanilla replied.  
"Don't worry i'll keep an eye on her" Amy assured Her.  
"My emerald !" Knuckles and Rouge said at the same time.  
"We're going to an island, boys" Vector said as he dragged Espio and Charmy out to their pickup truck.  
"I don't know, what if it's a trap ?" Blaze reasoned with Silver.  
"Come on, Blaze you've been working around the clock as queen you deserve a break"

"Easy money and a chance to relax in topstyle, my treat" Jet adjusted the course of the ship to station square.

"I am interested"

"I don't know..." Whisper said but Tangle reassured her.  
"Come on, it's gonna be fun" She walked out of her house, Whisper signed and followed her.

* * *

Station Square, 9:20 PM

Sonic placed his backpack on the ground and whistled as he saw a sizable plane, bigger than the tornado. "Sonic are you sure about this, it is bound to be a trap" Sonic nodded and answered.  
"I know but hey we can't be the only ones invited and besides, if we win this we get to take the emeralds, keep them safe and away from Eggman" He punched his shoulder slightly in a friendly manner. "And come on it's gonna be fun" Tails signed and smiled.  
"Alright, but stay sharp this is Eggman we're dealing with" They heard a car parking, out of it came Cream, Vanilla and Amy.

The pink hedgehog waved at them and ran to Sonic, giving him a warm hug "Hey Ames" Sonic said awkwardly, not complaining about the hug. She let go of him greeting both him and tails, Cream walked besides him and asked.  
"You received an invitation like us ?" Sonic nodded and patted her head.  
"Yep, too bad for our window though" Amy tilted her head and asked.  
"Window ?"

"ALRIGHT WHERE'S EGGMAN" Knuckles shouted as he stomped down the streets, with Tikal trying her best to calm him down.  
"Take a chill pill Knucklehead, Eggman's not even here. And besides I doubt that he'll have it with his person" Rouge told him, Knuckles stopped for a few seconds and scratched his head as he processed the information.  
"Alright, maybe that makes sense" Tikal looked over and noticed a blue hedgehog waving at him.  
Sonic wave back "Long time no see Tikal, how have you been" She nodded and answered.  
"I am doing very well, I assume you have received an invitation as well" All of them nodded, Knuckles and Rouge greeted Sonic, he asked.  
"Hey where's Shadow ?"  
"They are just taking my luggage, they should be here any minute now" Around the corner Shadow and Omega walked out, carrying several bags of luggage.  
They stopped beside Rouge, Shadow placed the luggage on the ground while Omega kept carrying his "Faker"  
"Shadow, hey Omega"  
"Hello, Sonic the Hedgehog"  
In a short time the place started to get more and more crowded, first came Tangle and Whisper, the wolf being brought more likely to keep an eye on her friend. Then Silver and Blaze, followed by the Babylon Rogues and at last the chaotix.  
"Shouldn't we be going to the coast by now, it's almost time".  
"Oh yeah, almost lost track of time" Sonic looked at Shadow and said.  
"Race you there" Sonic then zoomed off, followed by Shadow saying.  
"Be ready to lose"

"They don't change do they ?" Amy said as she grabbed her bag. Rouge shrugged and said.  
"Same old, same old" Rouge said, Omega grabbed the luggage Shadow left and all of them followed.

The moon reflecting over the beach, the gentle ocean breeze, carrying small bits of sand, behind them, the hotel. Docked on the beach a sleek white and red airplane, on its side the logo of dodonPa motors.

The Tanuki aboard his flying machine warmly greeted them "Hello my friends, my name is Dodon Pa. I hope all of you are ready to embark to Egg Isle. I bet all of you are excited as I am to embark but before we board the plane, i need all the participants to sign this contract" With a press of a button smaller robots carrying contracts flew towards each participant.

Tails took a closer look at it reading the lines out loud "We of the DodonPa Motors™, do not take responsibility for injuries of any kind (Bone fractures, internal and external bleeding etc) psychological damage or death ?" Tails then whispered to Sonic.  
"This sounds really fishy" Sonic hadn't liked the terms either but told him.  
"Better us having a chance to get the emerald than he right ?" Tails reluctantly signed it.

Vanilla was reluctant about it as well, she called over Dodon Pa and asked him.  
"Excuse me Mr Dodon Pa, i am worried about sending my child to this island, would it be ok if i sent her robot caretaker to look after her ?" He thought about it for a few seconds and answered.  
"I don't see any problem, but they are going to count as one participant" Vanilla nodded and looked over to Cream.  
"Sounds good to you dear" Cream and Cheese nodded happily, Vanilla then pulled out her cellphone.  
"I'll give Gemerl a call, stay close to dear" With all the contracts returning to the Tanuki, he read each and everyone of them before clearing his throat and saying.  
"looks like we are set, my friends, oh my looks like we are missing someone ?" All of them looked at each other confused, conspiracy of who was the missing participant, sounded throughout, until Shadow noticed some purple smoke materializing itself.  
" Sonic, Silver get ready" They recognized that smoke, the smoke fell down on the sand, from a black puddle a figure emerged from it, a dark shape, forming itself into the shape of Shadow, they glanced at each other, almost everyone prepared for a fight.  
"I am sorry for making all of you wait, i got side tracked. Are we ready to go on board ?" Shadow approached him and pointed a finger.  
"What are you doing here ? Haven't you learned your lesson from last time ?"  
"Oh, i have learned from it, but now i have no intent to fight you, i am merely here for this" He glanced at all the participants "Competition. You don't need to worry about me, i will be on my best behaviour" They stared at each other for a while longer before Dodon Pa interrupted them "Now now, save those sparks for the cameras my friends"  
Gemerl had already, with his orders received he stood close to Cream, Dodon Pa clapped his hands and gestured over to the AirPlane.  
"Marvelous, now come my friends let us go to your brand new home away from home" More Egg Pawns carrying cameras made sure to film them.

"This is so exciting" Amy squealed.  
"Be careful my dear, I'll be cheering for all of you" Vanilla told all of them after giving Cream a warm hug.

"Ladies and Gentlemen this is your Captain Orbot speaking, we are currently in the pacific the estimated time of arrival to Egg Isle is 08:00 PM. In case of an emergency you will just have to fasten your seatbelt and pray to whatever deity you believe, oh and some breathing masks should fall.

Oh and before i forget, Dodon Pa has asked each of you to enter the bathroom at the end of the corridor and make a short video introducing yourself to the viewers. Thank you for flying with Dodon Pa Motors and enjoy your flight"


	2. UnJolly Challengers

"Ok Omega, let's get one thing straight. I know you and Eggsy have a few loose ends to tie up" Rouge looked over from her seat, at the robot in front of her.

"The only thing I want to tie up is a noose on his neck" Rouge grimaced a little.

"Yeah cool, but we don't want to get kicked off right at the start don't we ? You need to get a hold on yourself and not snap the doc in two when we get there, got it ?" Omega nodded.

"Understood, I can only tear the doctor apart when I get kicked off" Rouge's mouth gaped. She tried to think of something but knowing how stubborn he is, she just agreed.

"Alright fine, just don't try to get yourself booted off" She sat back on her seat and looked out the window. She already had her share of relaxation back at home, but thankfully she had traded seats with his friend to sit near her favorite echidna.

"So, looks like you're not the last echidna huh? Who's the orange gal ? Your girlfriend ?" Knuckles' head snapped to her

"NO, she is my ancestor who locked herself in the master emerald for the greater good" Rouge looked over to Tikal as she talked with Cream and Amy.

"Huh she is pretty well conserved don't you think so ?"

"I, you, look-"

"I'm done," Espio said as he walked out of the bathroom, Vector shouted from his seat.

"Did you say the line ?" Espio signed and held a thumbs up, before going back to his seat, Knuckles looked over behind him and asked as the chameleon was walking past him.

"What line ?" Espio groaned and looked over with a face of shame

"Since we are going to appear on TV, me, Vector and Charmy had to make an ad about the Chaotix Detective Agency...He wrote it himself"

By this point everyone already had recorded their introduction, some being more talkative while other barely spoke at all, Omega didn't fit in the bathroom to record his, the sun had already shone it was around 7:30 PM the sun was shining most of them wandered about their breakfast, so far most of them had eaten peanuts and chips from the food cart.

"Ladies and Gentlemen this is your Captain speaking. We are currently twelve thousand feet high on the air, if you look to your right you can see the gorgeous, ocean finger, a curious rock formation that stands proudly among all the water. And if you look to your left you are going to see an Island that is completely and naturally, tilted over, Eggman has absolutely no relation to it whatsoever. We should be arriving at Egg Isle in approximately thirty minutes"

* * *

Every machine was finely tuned, cameras were set in almost every single nook and cranny of the island, besides the bathroom and rooms of the island, advisors gave the green light, prime television time reserved especially for them. Now all that was left were the participants, sticking his hand inside his coat he pulled out a radio.

"Orbot how long until our guests get here ?" On the other end, Cubot picked up the message.

"I think I can see the Island in the distance, we should be there in around thirty minutes I think" Cubot squinted his eyes as he tried to get a better look at the figure in the distance.

"You better be here in five, you useless bucket of bolts" Cubot nodded and answered.

"S-Sure thing boss. So uh what's the plan again ?" Eggman grunted and began to walk around the entrance.

"For now, make sure to bring them here. I'm already busy keeping the show running" On a hidden pocket inside his coat, a phone rang "Dang it! Screw this one up and I'll turn into a bundle of toothpicks."

He picked up the phone, and pressed the green button on the screen "Dodon Pa, how's it going over there? Our guests are giving you too much trouble ?"

The Tanuki laughed a bit "Not at all, they are surprisingly tame, without accounting some bickering and arguing it is all fine and dandy." Eggman laughed as he walked around the landing site.

"Good to hear, we want to save those for the cameras am I right ?" Dodon Pa nodded and told him.

"Indeed, expect our arrival to be soon. Allow me to remind you again that if you try any sort of evil tricks, I will make sure to squeeze every last penny out of you, tata" Eggman was left hanging, still processing the words. But the risk was worth it, not only would he have the chance to make it out with the most powerful gems in the world, but to destroy that steel bond Sonic had with his friends in the process, and the idea of showcasing it all on live television was just the cherry on top.

In the distance he heard the sound of engines, he instantly got excited to see his plan in motion, he fixed up his bowtie, ordered the EggPawns to prepare for Worldwide transmission. The wheels screeched and bounced against the concrete, slowly coming to a full stop, the metal door swung open. A car with a portable staircase adjusted itself to it. With a hand sign the cameras began rolling, he turned to face the camera, sporting a smile he greeted.

"Greetings ladies and gentlemen, we are coming live from Isle of Egg on a non-descript totally natural floating island, and I am your cohost . Now I know what you are thinking" He made a different voice in a somewhat mockingly tone and spoke to the camera.

" , hadn't you almost caused the extinction of all life as we know not even a year ago? The answer to that question is yes, but now I am past that, a new man stands before all of you, with the purpose to give you all a show to remember.

Without further ado meet your host, Dodon Pa !" Eggman clapped as the tanuki descended to his level, waving to the cameras. Once on land, the camera walked closer to him.

"Salutations, as you may know, it is I, the CEO of Dodon Pa motors, bringing to you this wonderful show. Now without further ado, let us introduce the competitors to their brand new surroundings." He then turned to all of the mobians as they placed their bags either on the ground or being carried, approaching with a warm smile "Come my friends, let us introduce you to your brand new living quarters''.

"So what do you think it could be like ?" Cream asked as she followed, Amy's every step. Rouge who couldn't help but eavesdrop butted in.

"Well, since Dodon Pa is pretty loaded, I would assume a fancy five-star suite. But since Eggsy is thrown into the mix, I have no idea. If he has some influence I think you can expect some run-down dump" Rouge shrugged as she walked past them.

"Whatever it is, it can't be that worse than what he has thrown our way the past years right ?" The memories of the many ploys he had, the biggest one that came to memory were the virus case.

Climbing up a hill, Amy turned to Rouge as she walked, cheerfully saying "Well... it can't be that bad right, what's wor-" She stopped dead in her tracks, two lamentable cabins each with a few meters apart, two doors on each end of the cabins, all of its materials from the windows, boards, and nails looked like they were bought from the discount bin in a warehouse, the only distinguishable thing of the two cabins were the roofs, one being yellow and the other being blue.

Almost everyone froze at the sight, Eggman laughed at the look on their faces, barely being able to contain his happiness at the ideas his morbid genius came up with. With a smile, he announced "Now, I know you all are excited to meet your brand 'new' homes, but I have to let you all in on how things work on the island...Tell them Orbot" The robot pulled a stack of papers and said out loud as he read it.

"Welcome to the Egg Isle challengers, your home for next three months or so, the one challenger who manages to be the last one standing will be the winner of the grand prize of the seven chaos emeralds, the master emerald, and a more than generous cash prize. All public spaces are going to be monitored twenty-four seven." In the middle of the silence, Rouge asked.

'What do you mean by the last one standing ?" Eggman and Dodon Pa chuckled to one another before the tanuki responded.

"Oh, you will find out in due time, bat lady. Now to your left, you'll see a cabin, where you can let the audience know what's on your mind" The cabin in question looked more like a tall cabinet made out of wood, only big enough for one person at a time.

Eggman once again grabbed their attention "Challengers, when I call your name please stand to my left" He cleared his throat before listing out the names of; Sonic, Tangle, Amy, Omega, Wave, Blaze, Espio, Mephiles, Rouge, and Jet.

They all walked nearby Eggman, he then led them to a yellow roofed cabin. Cubot came close to his master holding out two rolled cloths, the man grabbed the yellow cloth before tossing it to Sonic, he rolled out the cloth revealing what appeared to be a large flag depicting a Chao flying.

"From now on, you'll be known as The Shooting Chao" Sonic chuckled a bit before smirking at Jet.

"Looks like we'll be working together again, try to keep up Jet" The hawk launched a cocky grimm at Sonic, the hawk accepting his challenge.

"We'll see about that" Amy laughed a bit at their interaction, before looking back at Cream wearing a slight frown on her face.

"Now for the rest stand close to the blue roofed cabin" Eggman then tossed them a blue cloth, depicting a Flicky surrounded by stars "All of you are the Knockout Flickies" Shadow groaned before turning away and walking towards the plane

"This is a waste of time, I am getting out of here" Eggman laughed and pulled out a remote, and pressed the large red button. The sleek airplane erupted in flames with a loud boom. Shadow staggered a bit, deafened and disoriented for a few seconds, barely managing to stay on his feet as smoke flew up in the air. Mouths gaped, or covered by hands, Eggman announced.

"Sorry for that but, there are only two ways of getting out of here, winning or losing. Now Shadow please stand next to your teammates" With his sense mostly recovered he reluctantly walked back to his team.

After taking a picture they were then introduced to their cabins, boys to the right, and girls to the left. "After unpacking your luggage, meet us outside," Dodon Pa told them.

Omega stood in the middle, glancing between each door, noticing his distress Sonic asked "Hey big guy, you alright ?" His head turned to face the blue hedgehog

"I am currently undecided on which door I should take, Rouge has logically entered the left door, Shadow has entered the right and I have never been ordered to make such a choice" A sweatdrop ran down his head.

"That's an easy one, are you a boy or a girl ?"

"I am a robot"

"Right uh, what gender are you ?"

"Walking Arsenal." Sonic sighed.

"What is in your pants then ?"

"Plastic Explosives"

"Uuh…" Rouge's head perked out from the door, she shouted.

"Just go to the right door Omega" The bot nodded and followed her order, squeezing inside. After not even a second of him entering the room, he bumped into a green hawk, sending him falling to the floor.

"Hey, watch it tin can!" The hawk stumbled and glanced at the robot, his red eyes looking down at him.

"You stood in my way, feathered creature" His eyes squinted out of anger, he shouted.

"Hey, it's Master of Winds, you bucket of bolts !"

"I call you whatever I want to bird." Jet pulled out his bashoen and pointed it at the robot with a threat.

"Say bird again." His clawed hands turned into machine guns, the revving sound of barrels filled their room.

"What do you plan to do with that puny fan? Fan me to deactivation, bird." Jet lifted his bashoen, ready for a strike, the barrels prepared to fire. A kunai was tossed between them making an audible thunk as it landed on the ground, their heads snapped to a chameleon holding a brown duffel bag.

"Be quiet you two, whether you like it or not we are now a team, we must act as such" They groaned and turned their heads around to resume unpacking, Mephiles laughed a bit as he walked out the door.

"What a merry band, we are."

On the other side of the cabin

"You know...It could be worse, it's kind of cozy actually" Amy said as she tossed her bag on the bottom of her bunk bed, the second it made contact dust along with dirt, flew on the entire room. From her, bag Rouge pulled out a can of aerosol and sprayed it all over the vicinity. The sweet smell of lavender, quickly became overbearing manner over the smell of old wood and dirt

"Great now this dump, stinks of lavender" Wave plugged her nose with her fingers and waved her hand on her bunk bed, Rouge brow furrowed, before coming back to normal.

"Beats the stink of this old wood dear. I'll be waiting for you gals outside" Tangle walked over to Blaze as she was unpacking.

"So what brings you here Blaze ?" Tangle asked the cat as she was busy arranging her bed, she looked at her and scratched her cheek.

"Well, at first I had no intention of coming here, but Silver kept telling me that I deserved a chance to relax since I worked around the clock on my kingdom lately, and so I agreed. The idea of being constantly watched is slightly off-putting to me" The lemur nodded.

"Yeah, it creeps me out a bit too, but hey at least there are no cameras in private spaces" The cat agreed with her.

"Well I'm done here, I'll be going" Blaze smiled and waved her goodbye.

Over at the Flickies's Cabin

"Oh wow, this place is better than our hq," Vector said as he sat down on the bottom bed, the wood giving away slightly at his weight. Charmy hopped on the top bunk bed.

"At least we aren't sharing a room with a family of rats" Vector pointed at him from his bed at the bottom.

"Hey don't talk about them like that, they are a really decent folk once you get past the biting" Charmy laughed at his remark.

"This is idiotic, I refuse to take part in this, I'll find where the doctor hides the emeralds" The black hedgehog, stood up, not even bothering to unpack and walked to the door, Knuckles walked to his side.

"Then I am going with you. I have to get the master emerald back" Shadow just glanced at him, his hand at the doorknob.

"...Fine, don't stand in my way" Shadow swung open the door only to be met by Eggman.

"Aah, Shadow, I was looking to have a word with you, come along too Knuckles" He wrapped his arms on Shadow and Knuckles shoulders and walked out with them, on a joyful peppy voice he warned them "Now I know that all of you are just itching to get the prize, but sadly it is far from here at the moment. You are allowed to roam the island to your heart's content" His tone shifted to a more sinister tone.

"But, if you wish to temper or heaven forbid destroy my beloved show, the consequences are going to be dire for both you and your friends, no one likes a sad Eggman".

Knuckles slapped his hand off his shoulder "Oh yeah what are you going to do about it, there are more of us than there are of you" Eggman chuckled than answered.

"Oh, Knuckles you never change, do you? Look around you, my machines are in every single corner of this island and besides if you try to fly off, well let's just say the fishes are going to have a wonderful dinner" Knuckles and Shadow stood silent, as much as Shadow hated to admit it, he was right all around them, his robots laid just waiting for his command. Eggman then patted the echidna's head "Understood Knuckles? Now I bet all of you are hungry. Why don't you wait with everyone, and we'll have our chef fix you up some dinner ?"

Shadow and Knuckles silently cursed to themselves, without much of a choice they walked to where everyone was.

Once everyone was gathered outside they were led to the kitchen, a wide building made out of wood, just like the cabins, two rows of wooden tables, benched. Stacks of bowls and plates piled high into the skies. "Allow me to introduce you to your chef with a big heart….and belly" Dodon Pa clapped his hands and out came Big the cat wearing a chef's hat.

"Wait a minute...Does Big even know how to cook ?" Sonic asked, Eggman just shrugged and answered.

"That's what you'll find out, now why don't you eat, you will need a full belly for what is going to happen next" Big walked over to the kitchen, the sounds of pots and pans clanging sound, he returned with a big pot, steaming with something of unidentifiable smell.

Tails was the first, he reluctantly grabbed a bowl, along with a spoon and walked over to Big "So uh...What are we having ?" The ladle sunk into the mixture, pouring some blob of what he assumed was meat into the bowl, he could see a few vegetables floating around the brownish-white paste. The cat's ears perked up.

"Momma's recipe" And soon everyone had received its share, Tails winced a bit, before sitting down and scooping out some of that, the smell was nothing to take note off, the taste on the other hand was horrendous, a tear got out of his eye, he instantly spat it out. Most of them agreed with him, the food was bad.

"There is no way I am eating this." Wave said, pushing the bowl away, and so did Jet.

"Right on, this stuff is worse than Storm's" The albatross looked over them, with a sad look.

"Come on, It's not that bad when you get past the burnt stuff" On another table, Sonic kept eyeing Mephiles as he stared into his bowl.

"Uh, what are you looking at Mephiles for Sonic? You still don't trust him ?" The fox asked before regrettably, eating more of his 'food', Sonic then whispered.

"Nah, I was just wondering, how is he going to eat if he doesn't have a mouth" Mephiles remained mostly motionless, rarely fiddling with his spoon. Sonic even told Tails that he hadn't attempted anything yet, besides his comment back on their shack. But then, he took a spoon-full of the 'food' glancing at it.

It was then that Tails noticed, the others were staring at him, an attempt to distract themselves from the 'meal' before them, he lifted the spoon, the paste jiggling with the movement, bringing it closer to his mouth, closer and closer, until.

"Attention challengers! Gather outside the mess hall in five minutes for your challenge!" Orbot told them, all the gazes shifted from Mephiles to the robot, when they looked back to him, the bowl next to the dark being was empty, slightly spinning, he sat up and slowly walked to the exit.

"That guy just keeps weirder and weirder huh, well no use standing around anymore, let's go" Tails nodded his head in agreement and stood up.

"Any idea why Eggman split us up into two teams ?"Tails asked, Sonic shrugged in response as they walked past the tables and out of the mess hall.

"No idea should be that challenge thing" Sonic suggested as they walked downhill, before reaching Orbot. Some giggling could be heard on their right, turning to the source of the sound, they saw Tikal talking with Cream, Amy not being too far from them.

"Hey, Tikal, how's it going ?" The peach echidna bowed her head slightly in a greeting manner, diverting her attention from the Chao, the rabbit seemed to be in a better mood since the teams were made.

"Hello Sonic, I was just talking to Cream ?" The group then began to chat away, the topics varying but mostly explaining to Tikal what a camera is, what a reality show and updating her to the modern age, naturally she seemed overwhelmed by the changes. Dodon Pa arrived on his flying machine, looking over all of the participants as they chatted, clapping his hands in happiness he announced.

"Splendid! Everyone has gathered, before I take you to the challenge I'll need a few of you to wear these, come hither my friend" Cubot walked into view struggling to pull a wheelbarrow, filled with weird bands and a few steel collars, finally coming to a stop.

"When I call your name step forward, will 'Sonic the Hedgehog' and 'Shadow the Hedgehog' come closer?" Both hedgehogs stood before the tanuki, he then proceeded to point out at two pairs of bands, one red and one blue. "Blue hedgehog you wear the blue one and the other one belongs to the black hedgehog. Place each one on your ankles." Sonic picked up the blue band. His expectation of a light band instantly reverted as his hand sunk from the weight.

"Man these things weigh a ton" Shadow almost effortlessly picked up his, Dodon Pa nodded.

"Of course they do, we need a level playing field for this one, now place each band on your feet" Sonic and Shadow reluctantly followed his orders, before walking back to his friends.

"Is it too heavy Sonic ?" Amy asked looking down at his feet.

"Not much, I just can't run at my usual speed" Sonic complained.

The tanuki then called Mephiles, Silver, and Blaze, from the wheelbarrow he grabbed three mechanical collars. Mephiles looked at it then back to the Tanuki then slapped the collar on the dark being's neck, it made a few whirring sounds before announcing the end of the process with a ding. In a furious tone, Mephiles shouted.

"What have you done to me, you useless ball of lard! You will pay for this" He held his hand out towards him, focusing on casting a dark beam, but nothing happened. He stared back in disbelief before attempting again. With a smug smirk, he looked at the other two.

"O-Ok, now let's just-" Silver was cut off by a collar snapping into his and Blaze's neck.

"Hope you are comfortable, before you ask, no they won't shock you, they are just stopping you from using your powers, for a level playing field. Once the challenge is over we'll take them off. Now on my lead friends, your challenge awaits!"

"This sucks" Silver complained, Blaze just patted his shoulder in consolation and followed the man. Mephiles groaned as he followed him. "Look at the bright side, at least we don't need to worry about Mephiles trying to kill us" The cat smiled at him, Silver laughed a bit. Mephiles silently cursed the man.

* * *

It was a big, intricate contraption, several platforms of varied size being either narrow or wide, hanging ropes, boxes painted with angry faces, swinging bars, and traps scattered about all of it forming two complex obstacle courses, both equal and hanging over a pit of mud. Built cartoonishly and elaborate enough for the Doctor and audience taste.

"Orbot, is everything set ?" The man spoke into his radio as he waited at the beginning of the course.

"Yes sir, we are set" Orbot spoke at his end as he kept flipping through cameras. "Look sharp sire, they are here" Into view came a Dodon Pa leading the band of challengers, the doctor held out his arms and walked towards them.

"Welcome Challengers, have you enjoyed your meal ?" Tails shuddered in response as the memory of the food they ate, he just shook his head.

"I am happy to welcome you all to the Egg Gauntlet, your very first challenge, Dodon Pa would you like to explain the rules ?" He floated to his side and proudly announced.

"Most certainly, the rules are simple my friends, two shall run the course at a time, dodging and avoiding all of the traps, if you fall off the platform, you are disqualified. We shall make it four rounds, the first to make it to the end will receive a crate that shall be of use for the next challenge and trust me, you will need them.

Chubby man, if you please."

With the press of a button, a steel hatch opened, and from the ground emerged two wheels, painted in the respective colors of each team, and the names of the team members split throughout and by its side, Cubot.

"Spin the wheels Cubot !" The bot's hand grasped the lever, adn with a strong pull. Both wheels spun around and around, until coming to a stop on two names, the panels on top of it lit up, displaying the names of 'Amy Rose' and 'Tikal the Echidna'.

"And we have the two unluck- I mean lucky contestants are, Amy and Tikal, please stand on the platform with your respective team colors" Eggman said with a grin.

The peach echidna looked at Amy as she stepped closer "I wish you the best of luck" With a smile, the pink hedgehog answered.

"Good luck to you too, I won't go easy on you"

"On your places…Ready" Dodon Pa announced, holding a pistol aiming it skyward.

"So will i" Her gaze was set on the track before her. The finger began to squeeze the trigger.

"Set" Their gazes focused on the track, anticipation in the air, the first challenge being a series of four platforms with progressively smaller and smaller platforms.

BANG

"GO!" Their teams roared and cheered as they began to course.

Amy passed through the course first, taking the lead without much problem, while Tikal with some slips, the next part being a narrow platform a few feet apart from each other, on each end there were mechanical boxes with a single hole on it. Amy looked to the opposite end, Tikal already had started her per course.

The steel box whirred, launching balls at such a speed that could rival Sonic's, Tikal ducked out of the way, the disc missing her entirely, hopping onto the next platform and dodging the second disc missing her entirely. In a burst of confidence, she hopped on the next platform.

It was then that it hit her, the realization of how well she was doing despite not being used to having a corporeal body and the ball that struck her on the side of the head, the pain comparable to being struck by a dodgeball, the blow made her head tilt to the left and her torso followed after, causing her to fall onto the muddy water.

Amy dodged one of the balls and looked down onto the pit, shouting "Are you okay ?" The echidna wiped the mud off of her clothes and face. Looking up shouting.

"I am ok".

"And she is out, can the pink hedgehog surpass the next challenge" Amy stopped over a large pit, a straightforward path, the only obstacle being a bar, with a few ropes hanging over the muddy water. She took a deep breath and leaped, grabbing the first one, swinging back and forth a few times before leaping towards the next one.

As she grasped the rope, she felt her glove begging to slip from her hand, almost causing her downfall, she began to breathe in and out before telling herself "Come on girl you got this, he's looking right at us you know." she swung the rope before for jumping to the next one, and the last, then the platform.

"What a close call, can she get through the last obstacle ?" Amy was surprised to see, simply a walkway, over the muddy pit and at the end a checkered flag, almost a cakewalk. She stared at it in sheer disbelief, after all, she endured the, ending just sitting there.

She slowly walked down the path, still not being able to shake off that feeling, looking everywhere for any trap, as soon as she assumed it was all safe. The floor beneath her began to shake wildly, as if there was an earthquake beneath her, crouching down and grabbing the sides of the platform, for any stability, the surprise made her eyes closed. Her ears twitched to the sound of an engine running, the sound not being too strange to her.

Her eyes met with glowing blue eyes, a red paint job with black polka dots, almost the size of her boot, a ladybug-like robot, charging towards her. In one movement she made a handstand, dodging the robot.

She flipped around and with her feet back on the wobbly platform, she ran down the platform, dodging another and another one, and finally reaching the flag. Breathing in and out as her team yelled and cheered her, Dodon Pa flew closer vigorously shaking her hand and congratulating her, before leading her to a stack of crates, numbered from one to four.

She chose box number three, it was then that she realized….She was going to have to drag this thing to her team, but they had Omega he was pretty strong right?

Tikal approached Amy and shook her hand, her clothes still stained by the mud "Good job on the course Amy, for a second I almost thought you would fall".

Amy smiled and shook back "You were really good, you had a solid chance of beating me. Sorry for the clothes" The echidna waved her hand, dismissing her apology.

"Oh, don't be it wasn't your fault" Dodon Pa interrupted them, with an announcement

"Marvelous, now please return to your respective teams two. Now for the next two competitors" The wheel was spun with such strength that it kept spinning for a few minutes before landing on the next two names.

Omega and Whisper

Rouge blinked in disbelief, the one-ton walking arsenal racing against a slick wolf, the both of them stepped on the platforms. "Omega's in trouble I tell you, he is as moveable as a brick wall," Rouge told Sonic he nodded in response, there was no way Omega could outrun Whisper, he did have a chance with the obstacles of course, hell he was made of some alloy of chaos knows what, he take a few punches and then some. But Whisper will leave him in the dust.

"Figures, it'd be easier if he just tanked out the whole thing" Rouge nodded at Sonic's response, both teams watched as they prepared to race through the course. With a bang they began, Whisper ran through the course, almost in an instinctive manner like it was second nature.

While Omega… well he did get through the first two challenges, hovering past the steps, and tanking out the boxes, but then came the ropes, the very second he grasped the first one, the supporting beams gave out due to his weight, sending him plummeting down to the mud the impact from the fall along with the water lit him up like a Christmas tree.

Shadow rushed and jumped down into the mud while Rouge flew close to Him "Omega, are you okay? Can you hear me ?" the black hedgehog asked him, Omega's eyes flickered a bit, in a glitchy tone he said.

"M-motors for Motion have been damaged, CPU working at fifty percent capacity, Waterproof measures have been activated, anger operating at one hundred and ten percent capacity" His voice kept turning on and off, while he stood completely still in the mud.

A relieved sigh escaped Rouge "Oh boy, how are we going to get him out of here, he weighs a ton" Shadow crouched next to the robot, placing his hands underneath him, he tried to lift him twice without the robot moving an inch.

" As much as I hate to admit, I can't lift him by myself" Silver stepped forward.

"I guess I could help him up but" He then tapped the collar, tightly locked on his neck "I'm locked out of my powers" Rouge and Shadow nodded, the bat crouched down to his level, looking at his eyes.

"Can you hang in there until it's over Big Guy? One blink for yes, two for no" The lights on his eyes turned on and off, the bat smiled and patted his head before flying up.

When Shadow walked back to his team, they gathered around Whisper, congratulating her on the victory. The wheel spun around and around once more, two names highlighted, the third set of competitors competitors

Tangle VS Storm

Both teams began to hype up, some throwing words of encouragement, while others just silently waited for them to go, as both of them stepped up to the platforms, Eggman stopped them.

"Say, this course is feeling a bit old for me, how about a change of scenery everyone" Another button was pressed, the once damaged course sank, deep into the muddy water. And up came the shining, new course. While the first course was a strike of balance between length and challenge, course #2 was shorter and far more intense.

Where the first had four obstacles, the new one had three obstacles, jumping on small platforms while dodging pendulum styled hammers, a simple long tightrope, and the last one.

A simple small floating platform slowly floating past the muddy waters, seemed just as easy as it looked. Too good to be true honestly.

* * *

**Hey, thanks for reading, sorry for taking too long on this one and I'll be splitting this one into two parts.**


	3. Jolts n Bolts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey, sorry for taking too long on this one. Thanks and have a good one.

"So...What do you think we're supposed to do with these crates here ?" Amy asked to Whisper as she looked at the tall crate, the wolf just shrugged at her, the boxes easily towering over them.

Whisper's gaze was shifted down to the mud pit and over to the robot sunken amidst the waters and to her friend as she effortlessly hopped over from platforms in an almost taunting manner over the bumbling albatross that barely but somehow was keeping up and getting through the obstacles without too much problem...or grace.

"You okay in there ?" Tangle asked the albatross as he pulled himself up from an almost fall, angrily mumbling to himself before shouting to her from his end.

"Stop going so fast will ya, let me catch up !" She smirked at the albatross that kept on the chase, as he hopped the last few platforms, closing the distance between them.

She turned to face the second challenge, the tightrope. With a deep breath, she leaped into it, earning some gasps from her teammates and some from the other team.

Just as she was about to fall, the tail grasped the rope, she hung from the rope upside down, everyone watched as she used her tail to cross the gap. Storm on the other hand managed to catch up, he swallowed hard when he saw the rope hanging over the pit, he looked back at his friends for help.

Wave sighed, placing both hands close to her beak she shouted "Just try to walk past it slowly, you shouldn't have much trouble that way" The albatross took a deep breath and placed one foot on the rope, the thread began to give away on his weight.

Tangle stopped midway through close to the end and she decided to look at how he was going to make his way across, reluctantly Storm placed his second foot startled at how the rope descended on his weight, he stood completely still. Until he heard one of his teammates shouting.

"You're doing so far great big guy! Keep going" He kept breathing in and out for almost five seconds before slowly starting to make his way across, surprisingly he was making his way across, but halfway through Eggman groaned.

The lemur arrived at the last challenge, the platform floating in front of her, patiently waiting for her to step on it. Carelessly she hopped on it, Storm sped up his pace on the rope that shook up and down in response to it, but alas, managed to reach the end. A bit late to his surprise, or lack thereof, his opponent was already onboard the platform, Storm quickly hopped on top of the platform in front of him.

He barely fitted inside it, barely had any space to move around, all he could do was stand and wait for him to arrive second.

"This is getting a bit stale don't you think friend ?" Eggman asked the audience, the Tanuki that stood by his side, nodded in agreement.

"I wonder what could we do to spice things up? any ideas chubby man ?" Dodon Pa asked him while scratching his chin. Eggman lifted his head and laughed, he tossed a remote up and down.

"Oh I think I do have something, electrifying in mind"

During their sluggish ride on the platforms, both Tangle and Storm heard a buzzing sound, their gazes were shot backward to meet a small swarm of robotic wasps, blue and black paint job, an antenna that some would call cute... If not for sparks flying vigorously out of their metallic mandibles.

Eggman and Dodon Pa laughed as they watched the two competitors shuffle and wiggle out of the wasps' way. Tangle going up and down the platform using her tail and her nimbleness to the best of her abilities, in an almost contortionist fashion.

While Storm, on the other hand, was having close calls after the other, lifting his leg, crouching down, but for the wasps, it was way easier to hit a stumbling 4ft tall albatross, than a Lemur.

He felt something hit his back, in a blink of an eye fifty thousand volts were lovingly delivered to his body, top to bottom, beaks to claws, the only thing that prevented him from a muddy dive was his body fat, he could barely hear Tangle shouting at him.

"Hey! Are you okay ?" His eyes slowly opened, electricity still slightly jolting through his body, and nodded. But they weren't out of the woods yet, but it was close. Once he managed to shake the jolts off of his person, he saw the flag flapping against the wind.

Both smiled at the sight, but Storm couldn't catch a break, he saw another wasp in a crash course directed toward his face. Before the contact could be made he held it by its metallic chassis, the vespoid kept stretching its head while angrily buzzing.

In a move the wasp was tossed aside, it's target suddenly changed to a lemur already busy on her end of things, only noticing it when it was already too late.

Electricity ran, from the top of her head to the sole of her shoe, she stiffened like a board, when the electricity subsided, her tails fell, still numb from the shock she followed after, she unceremoniously felt down to the mud.

To say that Whisper was glaring daggers would be an understatement, she may as well be signing a silent warrant on him, even a meathead like Storm could notice what it meant. But he didn't have time to pay attention, the wasps hadn't left him alone. But alas he got to the end, the wasps ended their onslaught and retrieved back to their holes, he chose a crate from the pile, lifting it effortlessly and bringing it back to his team.

"Eggman, I guess you could say this is a Shocking turn of events ?" The fat man threw his head back and fakely laughed at the pun, while the rest cringed at it.

"Oh, Dodon Pa you rascal, now for the last competitors. Orbot! Spin it you worthless tin can!" He jumped up interrupted from the suspension mode and gave it the strongest spin his aluminum frame body could muster.

Around and around it spun, where it lands nobody knows, that is until it stopped after nearly a minute.

Wave vs Knuckles

"Let's get this over with !" The echidna pounded his fist against each other and stepped forth, and so did Wave.

They barely even said something to each other, let alone stare, both focused on the track ahead. A gunshot announced the start.

Knuckles ran head start, his fist crushing the swinging hammers easily, as he hopped from platform to platform.

"Wait up, is he allowed to do that ?" Rouge asked Eggman, he shrugged and answered.

"Well. He is not in the water now is he?" Eggman looked at her with his ever so famous trademark evil grin.

Knuckles reached the tightrope with Wave following after, stopping to catch her breath before setting foot on the rope.

To Wave, balancing on the rope held as much difference as balancing on an extreme gear, except for the fact that she had to walk. Knuckles, on the other hand, didn't have much on the balance department, he wobbled left and right as he tried to walk on the rope, stumbling not falling...almost.

Steadily Wave took the lead, Knuckles sped up his pace.

Wave was still ahead of him.

Faster, he told himself.

He was getting closer, Wave approachedthe end of the rope. With a deep breath Knuckles sped up his pace, his foot slipped from the rope, and down he fell, it would be the end of him if not for his hand grasping the rope, his feet dangled in the air. He couldn't hope to catch up to Wave now, she already hopped on the platform of the last challenge. But he had an idea.

Grasping the hope with both hands, he began to shake the rope up and down, up and down, over and over until. When the momentum was at its absolute peak he let it go, launching himself up high in the air, high enough for him to easily glide to the end.

Wave grinded her teeth and shouted at him "You cheater!" Knuckles snickered and laughed.

"I'm not touching the water now am I?" As much as Wave hated to admit it, he was right, and she was just outsmarted by a gullible, loner Knucklehead. But as soon as he got over the last area, the metal hatches slid open again.

Soon enough, Knuckles found himself swarmed by the wasps, a single punch turned them into scrap metal but it came at a price, with each punch he lost a bit of altitude, but no problem as long as he didn't touch the water he was still in the game.

Wave hopped on the platform, it began its sluggish travel, but for her luck, most of the wasps were focused on the echidna up high, and he was approaching the end, while she wasn't even halfway through.

She could only watch as Knuckles latched on the wall, punching the wasps as he climbed to the flag, claiming victory for his team. The wasps ended their onslaught, allowing easy passage.

But Wave would rather be swarmed by taser wielding wasps then be outsmarted by a red gullible echidna and she couldn't even cheat properly. She gritted her teeth and mumbled profanities as she returned to her team swearing that this wouldn't go unpunished.

With a whistle, Dodon Pa took the attention of all the participants "Congratulations to both teams for passing the first stage of this challenge. Now for the first part of the second phase, each team is tasked to bring the crates they earned from the challenge back to the front of your respective cabins"

Knuckles, Storm, and Shadow with a bit of work lifted the crates, chatting whilst among each other. Silver walked closer to Dodon Pa and asked.

"Hey uh, can you guys take this thing off? I gotta get Omega out of the mud pit down there" Eggman looked down and Omega smirked and looked back at Silver.

"The challenge isn't over yet, your collars will only get taken off once the challenge ends. Now hurry on back to your team like a good challenger" With that both announcers left them.

"Oh well, at least I can try to help you guys out, where do we begin?" Silver said as he glanced down into the pit where the robot was. Sonic groaned and said out loud.

"Oh great, I just realized that we'll have to drag him along with that crate, this is gonna be a long day" Tails placed a finger and hummed to himself.

"Maybe I and Rogue can fly him out of there, what do you think ?" She looked down at the robot and shrugged.

"I think it could work, can you pull your weight fox boy ?" She said as she flew down.

"Well I lifted Knuckles and Sonic at once," He said as he flew down, following her.

"Oh for crying out loud, can't we just leave him there ?" Jet asked Rouge shouted from the pit.

"You can go and drag that box all by yourself for all I care bird brain, I am not leaving my friend in the dirt"

Jet grunted and with an angry tone replied.

"Fine, have fun lifting that hunk-a-junk outta there" Jet then strutted to the crate, walking around it, and with all his might to push the thing, it barely moved from the spot it was.

Back at the pit, Rouge silently ranted to herself about her teammate, only to be snapped out of it by Tails.

"So uh...You ready Rouge ?" Tails asked as he grasped the robot's large shoulder with both hands, she nodded, grasping the other end herself.

"Yeah, on three" On the count to three, both grunted as they slowly but surely, flew the robot out of there, after probably the longest minute of Tails and Rouge's lives, the bot was out of there and in the grass.

Tails sprawled out on the floor barely moving and Rouge trying to catch her breath.

"Now I remember why I haven't done that in a while, ouch," Amy rushed towards them and asked both of them.

"Are you two ok ?" Rouge nodded

"I'm fine, how about you fox boy ?"

"Think so, ouch" Tails yelped in pain as he tried to stand up using his arm as a support, causing him to fall on the ground. "Nevermind, my arm hurts" Sonic walked up to his friend, helped him up, and took a look at his arm, slightly pinkish, somewhat swollen.

"Well, it doesn't look so bad. Can you move your arms" Even a wave sent jolts of pain, Tails shook his head. "Can you walk ?"

"Think so, it hurts a bit but I think I can walk back to the camp" Sonic smiled, he went to tap his shoulder but quickly moved his hands away.

"Good to hear, if you need any help just say it" He then turned to his team, yelling "Ok guys, let's get moving"

Back with the other team

Knuckles placed the heavy crate down on the ground with a shaking sound from the inside, he wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked back to his team, as the other two crates were placed on the floor, Dodon Pa stepped closer, capping his hands congratulating them.

"Congratulations, KnockOut Flickies! Now for the second stage of your challenge, inside those crates, you will find parts to build yourself, a sizable full metal, four wheels, and the best engine money can buy. That's right ladies and gentlemen you'll be making a..."

What could it be? A brand new state of the arc sports car, a flying fortress? Their mouths gaped, minds raced through the many possible ideas of such a reward, before they were inevitably and mercilessly shattered

"A fridge"

Some mouths gaped, some simply stared in disbelief, others honestly had no idea what a fridge even was.

Vector tried to laugh it off and asked "...You're...Joking are you ?" The tanuki shook his head. He looked back at his team and asked.

"Ok team, who here knows how to build a fridge ?" Silence all over the team. "Oh boy, this is gonna be a long evening"

The crates were cracked open, its contents placed on the ground, Knuckles sat on the ground scratching his head and he placed each piece against each other. Whisper managed to make some progress, she applied some of her experience of maintenance on her wispon, it wasn't much but hey, it was better than nothing.

Seven minutes deep into their work, with little to no progress Knuckles asked.

"Hey, does anyone know where Tails is at ?" Knuckles asked Tikal her answer, a shrug. Cream overheard it and answered his question for her.

" I think Tails was helping out of the mud pit" Knuckles snickered a bit.

"Heh yeah, is that guy even operational ?" In the distance, they heard the sound of something being dragged, on the end of an uphill battle a large crate and the robot was in sight, Behind them, a team, tired out of their minds.

"Now that both teams are here, allow me to explain fully how this challenge will work. In the crates you earned in the obstacle you will find pieces to build a fridge or as I like to call it, The Winter Box. The team that builds the best fridge gets three weeks worth of Chaos Soda™" He then pulled out a small piece of paper and spoke it's words out loud.

"Chaos Soda: The only way to control the Chaos in you!" He placed on his pocket the piece of paper and cleared his throat. "The other team will be sending someone home, you have until sundown and it's currently four pm. Good Luck"

A hand was placed on the fox's shoulders"Tails! Good thing you're here bud-" Vector's cheerful tone was cut by a yelp of pain, he quickly got his hands off of him and asked. "You allright?" The fox shook his head and explained his current predicament, but offered to walk them through the process, better than just smacking stuff together and hope that it works.

And so both teams began to work, Wave did most of the work while her team helped her out, things went without much trouble, only some slight misunderstanding here and there.

With the knockout flickies on the other hand.

The team had been separated into few groups, diving the tasks between each one of them, with Tails checking in with each one of them,

"It is supposed to go here" Knuckles shouted as he pointed to a specific part in the fridge, Storm shook his head, a large mechanical piece in his hands, and shouted louder.

"Yes it does, look it's gonna fit in there like a glove" Knuckles crossed his arms and leaned back a bit, not wanting to blow a fuse over him he simply said.

"Really? Then put it in"

"Erm, yeah uh, sur-sure" He then turned to the empty space in the machine, the piece in his hands, after some hesitation he proceeded to slam the piece inside, its entrance announced with the sound of something metallic breaking.

"Hah, I told you it would fit" Storm looked at Jet hoping that he had seen him do it, to his surprise he was busy with the fridge.

"Of course it's gonna fit when you ram the thing in. If the whole thing falls apart it'll be on you, got it ?" Storm began to reconsider if that was a good idea but if he had a chance to impress Jet it was worth it, he even kidnapped someone to impress him, and so messing up a fridge was a no biggie.

When the sun finally set down in the sea, Eggman blew a whistle and lifted a hand up. "Alright challengers, hands off the fridges, time's up"

Both teams followed his instructions and stood back, Eggman and Dodon Pa approached them with an Eggpawn carrying a generator behind him, he glanced at both fridges, The fridge of the Flickies looked spotless and well built.

The other fridge was an amalgamation of fridge parts and wood from the crate.

To save them the embarrassment he went first for the flickies team, congratulating them on the work, he stuck a thermometer inside the fridge and connected the cord to the generator.

The engines revved up, its insides getting chilled, victory seemed close to their grasp until it began to make a clunking noise as it began to shake wildly, launching parts everywhere, and in no time reducing it to a pile of mismatched pieces. Tails's mouth gaped as he asked his team.

"Ho-how did that happen, did I do something wrong ?" Talk quickly emerged among the team gripping his ears in frustration, no one was blaming each other until Knuckles spoke out.

"Storm did it, saw him slam a piece in there and break the whole thing" All eyes were set on him, the albatross tried to awkwardly laugh it off. Mutters and talks about kicking him out ram amok the team.

And so the choice was a pile of fridge pieces or the love child of a crate and metallic parts.

Eggman turned around to face the other team "The Shooting Chao won this challenge...by elimination, enjoy your monthly supply of Chaos Soda™! As for the Flickies, place your votes on which participant you want out in the cabin and meet me on the south edge of this island after dinner. Until then challengers"

When Eggman walked off the teammates began to scatter around the island, some headed for the small beach, others went for the cabins to rest, Tails went to get some medical treatment from Dodon Pa's DocBots. Whisper rightfully went to check on her friend.

With an ever low tone, she asked."Are you ok? Did that fall hurt you ?" Tangles shook her head as she tried to get the mud off her fur and calmed her down.

"Don't worry I'm fine, it wasn't the worst thing that has happened to me, the worst part is the mud" She ended it with a small laugh to try to calm her friend down.

"What about that shock ?" Tangle blinked a few times and remembered her fall after having a wasp hurled towards her.

"Oh yeah, that happened...how's the big guy anyway ?" The Wolf's face soured when he mentioned him, he didn't strike a good first impression on her, ransacking her friend's museum, kidnapping Jewel, and zapping her best friend, safe to say that she wasn't on the best terms with him.

"Don't know..." After that Silence crept its way into the conversation, both stayed quiet not knowing what to say, Tangle scratched the back of her head and said.

"Well I'm kinda thirsty, I'll go grab some chaos cola, want some ?" Whisper cracked a smile and said.

"That stuff's horrible." Tangle shrugged.

"Well I got shocked for it, so I may as well have some."

Not too far from there, Shadow managed to snag a toolbox from a shed, he sat down with Omega, he removed his chest plate, mud was everywhere on his insides, engines, circuitry, chips, and such.

After the many times, Omega was plucked apart, destroyed, or damaged for most of the time, since Shadow was most of the time by his side in missions, inevitably he learned how to patch him up, but his knowledge didn't go that far, fixing a bullet stuck on his joint was no problem, but the more serious cases.

With a rag he began to wipe the mud off of him, giving him a clear view of his insides and naturally the source, chunks of dirt stuck on the various holes and gaps of the rods and moving parts.

He took a deep breath and with a pair of pliers, began to work, carefully pulling each chunk out, being careful to not break them apart, it took some time but he was done, once all the pieces were out, but the robot hadn't moved.

"Oh there you are Shadow" Tails walked into view "Our team is waiting for you at the south edge"

"What about Omega ?" Tails looked over at the bot.

"I'll fix him up when it's over, it shouldn't take long, come on" With a grunt Shadow stood up.

"This won't take long" Shadow walked over to Tails, Omega sounded his complaint.

"It better not."

As they passed by the dorms, Shadow saw the other team, celebrating their victory, chatting amongst themselves, very few were drinking the actual beverage though, a few people were missing on the reunion, he paid it no mind, they weren't his teammates after all.

When they reached the south edge, Shadow saw his teammates, all sitting down on chairs, lights placed in dramatic angles, in the stage stood both of the hosts, cubot carrying a box, not far from the chairs he saw Tangle, Jet, and Blaze. Eggman turned around with a grim he invited Shadow.

"Ah, there you are, come closer, black hedgehog we have a seat waiting for you," Dodon Pa said as he motioned him to an armchair, he crossed his arms "Don't worry it is not a trap my friend you have my word" Reluctantly he sat down, the chair was somewhat comfortable.

"As I've told you before, your team has lost the challenge, not only will that person leave the Island they will also leave the handsome reward behind, being deemed as losers. Even though you gave it you're all on the first challenge someone will be leaving the Knockout Flickies tonight. Do you see these brass medals ?" He showed it to them, the polished metal gleamed with the light.

"They represent safety if you receive a medal you will not be eliminated, try to stand up and Metal Sonic will gladly force you down… As you can see I have only nine medals. One of you will go home. When I call your name, walk up to me, take your medal, and go back to your seat." He cleared his throat and said out loud the following names.

Tails, Knuckles, Tikal, Vector, Cream, Charmy, Whisper, and Shadow

Each one took their medal sitting down, tension was in the air.

"Silver and Storm, what can I say, some weren't too happy with what you did and now one of you will pay the price" Silver and Storm stared at the medal, afraid of which one he would call out.

Viewers glued to the screen as they relished in the drama, and Eggman is more than glad to hold their attention, loving every second of that tension that hung in the air. But he couldn't keep it going forever sadly.

"...Silver" The white hedgehog felt a huge weight off his shoulders, gladly walking to him and taking his medal. Storm swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Wa-wait I can explain" Eggman grinned as he held a remote.

"Too bad Storm, wave the prize goodbye and Bon voyage" With a press of a button, the chair morphed itself into a flying egg pawn, without wasting a second flew him away.

Jet cursed to himself in frustration, stomping towards Eggman "Hey, where'd that thing take my friend to ?" Ignoring the bird Eggman's gaze attention shifted towards an eggpawn with a camera.

"And that's all for today folks" Dodon Pa jumped in, the lens focused on him.

"Tune in, tomorrow for another episode of" Eggman jumped into the frame, both saying in unison, with Jet being held back by Metal Sonic.

"Isle of Defiance"


End file.
